Man sentenced to 4 years for breaking civil rights plaque during 2020 Nashville riot

Tondrique Fitzgerald was sentenced in February 2023 to four years for vandalism and rioting charges after breaking a plaque commemorating civil rights during a May 2020 riot at Nashville's historic courthouse.

Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to charges of felony aggravated rioting and vandalism over $1,000 after a riot broke out following a peaceful protest against police brutality on May 30, 2020. He also used pieces of the plaque to break the courthouse windows, and encouraged others to participate in vandalism.

Others set fire to the courthouse and damaged several businesses along Lower Broadway, home to a popular strip of honky-tonks in downtown Nashville.

FROM MAY 2020:Rally organizers condemn Nashville riot after protests turn violent

The riot drew sharp criticism from the rally organizers, city leaders and activists, many of whom said it marred the peaceful protest that preceded it. Nashville was host to several peaceful protests and rallies following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of now-former Minneapolis Police Department Officer Derek Chauvin.

The riot cost the city of Nashville $1.2 million.

'THERE IS NO CHANGE THROUGH VIOLENCE':Nashville 1960s civil rights heroes praise current movement, denounce courthouse vandalism

The plaque commemorated the 1960s lunch counter sit-in protests in Nashville that were a pivotal part of the Civil Rights Movement. The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis was part of those protests, alongside Frankie Henry.

“Intelligent people were marching peacefully to enact change in the daytime, and a few criminals came out at night,” Henry, now a retired Nashville teacher, told The Tennessean a week after the riot.

“Don’t get them mixed up.”

Craig Shoup contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Man sentenced for breaking civil rights plaque in 2020 Nashville riot